Experiment
by Uchiha B
Summary: Maybe being experimented on by Orochimaru wasn't so bad after all... Naru/Inu xover Kagome/Sasuke
1. Experiment

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Ages: Kagome, Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin: 15, Juugo: 16

Pairing: Kagome/Sasuke, maybe some Itachi/Kagome

* * *

"Is this her?" Uchiha Sasuke asked coldly, staring at the young girl strapped to a bed. She looked like she was merely sleeping, but Sasuke knew better. She was most likely heavily drugged, at least if she was in Orochimaru's lab she was. His dark eyes ran over her form, drinking in the sight.

She was pretty, long dark hair and pale skin. If he didn't know better, Sasuke would've guessed she passed as an Uchiha. He didn't know the color of her eyes, her lids shut and dark bags covered his view. He narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if what Suigetsu had said was true. If it was, then it certainly changed a lot of his current plans.

"Yes…Higurashi Kagome, one of Orochimaru's 'prized' experiments." Suigetsu said simply, also staring at the comatose girl. She had been captured a few months ago; he had heard that she had apparently come out of no where, Orochimaru had found her bleeding by a well near this secret base. He had heard rumours that she had some sort of 'special' power which had effectively delighted the snake. He knew that she was probably experimented on extensively. He had even heard that she was even injected with _that _gene…

Suigetsu glanced up to Sasuke, vaguely wondering what the Uchiha could even think after he had told him that small bit of information. Sasuke had immediately demanded him to take him to where she was so they could confirm it was actually true.

Sasuke said nothing, merely staring at the girl. He narrowed his eyes, willing her to wake up from her drug-induced state. It didn't work and his dark eyes immediately fixed on a certain spot. His lips upturned lightly in a smirk.

The Heaven curse mark then?

She must be stronger than she looked if she actually survived that, he could remember the pain the mark caused when first bitten. "Get her out of those." He ordered Suigetsu, motioning to the restraints that held her to the bed.

Suigetsu glanced at him with annoyance at being bossed around. He certainly wasn't going with the Uchiha because he wanted to be ordered around; he had his own goal he wanted to fulfill. However, he knew that Sasuke was stronger than him so he would listen for the time being.

The former Kiri-nin leaned over the girl, undoing the restraint belts that held her form down to the bed, standing upwards and glanced towards Sasuke for further orders. The Uchiha looked around; spotting some suitable clothing the girl could wear. It's not like he wanted to drag her along while she was wearing something that resembled a hospital gown. His eyes darkened, glancing back at her.

She _would _come with them, even if he had to force her to go. If she really did have _that, _then he would need her for his future and the future of his clan.

It's not everyday someone gets injected with Uchiha DNA and survives with the Sharingan.

* * *

"Tch…is she ever going to wake up?" Karin asked with annoyance, glancing at the comatose girl with some irritation. She and Juugo had just been picked up by Sasuke, joining his newly formed Team Hebi. She saw this as her perfect chance to seduce the Uchiha, but apparently he saw differently, having dragged along the girl which she knew had the Uchiha DNA strand injected into her. She had heard that the experiment was a success; the girl could actually activate the Sharingan.

'_Stupid girl…' _Karin thought, turning away with slight jealousy. She knew the girl was prettier than her, and Sasuke may actually fall for her charm if he actually dragged her with them. Other than that, Karin virtually knew nothing about the girl. She was a top secret experiment of Orochimaru's. Only the snake and that medic-nin, Kabuto, really knew anything about her.

"Would you just shut up already?!" Suigetsu said with annoyance, leaning up against the wall. He was tired of hearing Karin's constant complaining and her annoying voice to boot. Why Sasuke would ever want someone like her on his team was beyond him. He was sure the girl was bipolar. He sighed, also wanting Kagome to wake up. It didn't look like it would be anytime soon either, she had enough drugs in her to knock out three fully grown men.

"Shut up, the both of you." Sasuke immediately ordered, glaring at the two of them. He leaned against the couch he was currently sitting, glancing at the girl who was lying on the couch opposite of him. He glared at the two again as they turned to him, opening their mouths as if they actually wanted to start arguing with him. At his glare, they shut up immediately, not wanting to get on the Uchiha's bad side. Sasuke glanced back at the girl, glad that there was finally silence in the room. It wouldn't be good if Juugo lost control because of the foolishness of the two.

"Are we just going to be staying here until she wakes up? Judging by the recent report on her, she won't wake up for another day." Karin complained, she certainly didn't want to stay in this area for long. They had fought many of Orochimaru's minions earlier, all of them with their curse mark activated. Sasuke, for some strange reason, didn't want any of them to kill them. They could wake up at any moment and ambush them.

"Be silent!" Sasuke ordered with impatience, Karin already grating on his nerves. He had only allowed her to join his team because she was the only one he knew that could actually track chakra and be aware of whom exactly it was. He would need that because he needed to track Itachi down and because he didn't want Naruto or any of the Konoha-nin to interfere with him anymore.

He was done with the Konoha crowd for good.

Karin crossed her arms, turning her head with a very feminine 'hmmph!' She was only asking a question, the Uchiha didn't need to snap at her like that! She glared at the drugged girl, taking her anger out on her.

Juugo merely sat in a corner, staring out the window at the birds. He was slightly grateful to Sasuke for subduing him earlier and decided to follow him based on that. It was relieving to know that there was someone out there who could stop his _urges _to kill. He didn't care one way or another if they had to wait there for another day for that girl to wake up.

Sasuke leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms over his chest and closing in obsidian eyes momentarily. He, too, was slightly impatient, wanting the girl to wake up now. He needed to see if she could actually use the Sharingan. He also wanted to see her other powers. According to the chart Orochimaru had left behind, she was considered as a miko, whatever the hell that was. Apparently, a miko had the power to completely purify demons and that power may be of some use to him.

He stared at her, willing her to wake up. He almost felt like sighing as she didn't. It would be a long day. He was ready to leave the Sound now.

* * *

'_W-what's…going on…?' _The slurred thought ran across her drugged brain, immediately noticing that she felt very fatigued. That wasn't unusual, at least not while she was in the hands of that damn snake…

'_He put…me out again.' _Kagome thought slowly, trying to fight against the drug's mellowing effects. It was annoying as hell to be knocked out whenever the Sannin wished, but she was slightly grateful for it because it didn't mean that she was experimented on when she was awake like some unfortunate souls. That damn snake had given her some weird comma-shaped tattoo-like marks on her neck that gave her a bit of grief; the pain when she had first received the mark was so intense she thought she would actually die. The pain was almost as bad as when her soul had been forcibly ripped from her to revive Kikyou…

The stupid snake had also experimented and messed with her DNA, going on and on about something about 'Uchiha' DNA, and how she would be able to use the 'Sharingan,' whatever that was. She also vaguely recalled Orochimaru saying that she would be the perfect breeding bitch for him after he took over 'Sasuke-kun's' body.

Kagome had no idea what he meant by taking over someone's body, but assumed it was like Naraku's absorbing abilities. Her brow twitched at the thought of Naraku, it was basically his fault she was even here in the first place.

After the well had reappeared after the Shikon and Naraku episode, it was completely messed up, sending her here instead of home. She really had no idea where 'here' was but other than the fact it was called the Village Hidden in the Sound, or Otogakure. It was a strange name…

'_Itai…' _She thought vaguely, fighting against the drug's numbing effects so she could get her mind out of this black darkness…

* * *

Sasuke immediately glanced up, seeing that she was stirring slightly, looking like she was ready to wake up. He raised a brow, she must've been stronger than she looked because she was drugged enough to knock a man out three times over, and if she could fight it and actually wake up a day earlier than expected…

He smirked slightly, wanting to see her abilities with his own eyes. Oh yes, she would be some use to him if she could use the Sharingan -- that and along with her 'miko' powers, he could potentially rebuild the Uchiha clan…

He sat up straighter as her eyes snapped her open, revealing a pretty blue. She immediately grasped at her neck, wincing as her curse mark seemed to pulse in pain. It calmed and she let out a breath, glancing around the room with slightly glazed and fatigued eyes. She was obviously still under the drugs effects somewhat…

He smirked; she actually fought against it and won, effectively waking up. He knew because he had some enhancing drugs injecting into him some time ago and how powerful they could actually be.

"W-who are you... what's goin' on?" She sat up quickly, slurring her words a bit. She looked over at him, tensing a bit. She had never seen him before, having only seen Orochiamru and the deranged medic, Kabuto. They never allowed her to see anyone and it annoyed her…

So what changed now? Who were these people? And where was she?

Kagome looked around the room warily and with difficultly, trying to see past the blurriness the drugs were obviously causing her. There was a black-haired boy sitting on the couch opposite her, it was hard to see, but it looked like he was actually smirking at her…

She ignored it, observing the other occupants of the room as best she could. There was a blue-haired boy leaning against the wall, looking at her with some kind of emotion that she couldn't really decipher at the moment, maybe it was impatience? Why would he be impatient?

There was also a red-haired girl glaring at her for no reason, and Kagome resisted the urge to glare back. She hadn't done anything that warranted such a look…

Lastly, there was a tall blond-boy staring out the window, seemingly completely ignoring everyone else's presence.

Kagome gripped at her head a bit, fighting off the fatigue that seemed to have snuck up on her. She did not like being drugged at all.

The dark-haired boy smirked even wider at her questions, before standing up from his sitting position on the couch to walk over to her.

Kagome tensed slightly, cowering into herself a bit. There was no way she could defend herself with the damn drugs in her system…

She blinked sluggishly as he gripped her chin, forcing her to stare into his dark eyes with her own blue ones. She blinked again as he got straight down to the point.

"Kagome—" Said girl wondered where he knew her name from, she had never met him before. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke—" Ah, is this is the one Orochimaru wanted to 'take over' and force her to breed with…

"And you're going to be a member of Team Hebi from now on…"


	2. Team Hebi

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Ages: Kagome, Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin: 15, Juugo: 16

Pairing: Kagome/Sasuke, maybe some Itachi/Kagome

* * *

"And you're going to be a member of Team Hebi from now on…"

Kagome looked at him with bleary blue eyes, blinking a bit. _'Team…Hebi…?' _She thought dreamily, the drugs in her system were trying to overpower her, but she pushed the fatigue back down. She could sleep later; she wanted to know what was going on and who these people were.

But most importantly, she wanted to know where Orochimaru was, and why he was letting her see these people. _'Team Hebi…' _She thought again, the thought much more clearly. Who would honestly name their team after a _snake_?

"What're you talking about? What's…going on?" Kagome asked, pulling back a bit so she wasn't in Uchiha Sasuke's grip anymore. She was glad to hear that her words weren't slurred. Her eyes flickered over to the girl as she seemed to snort at her question, and Kagome glared at the red-head.

Sasuke merely closed his black eyes and smirked, seemingly amused at her question. She didn't see what was so funny. "Kagome…Orochimaru is dead. You don't need to worry about him anymore." He said smoothly, not really answering her question at all.

"Dead?!" Kagome gasped, was this a joke? Was Sasuke kidding her? The damn snake had made her life a living hell; it would be great if he was dead…she really did hate being treated as a science experiment.

Karin snorted again, crossing her arms over her chest irritated. "Get with the program already! Orochimaru is dead and Sasuke wants to drag you along with the rest of us!" She said loudly with annoyance, already disliking this girl. Why Sasuke wanted to bring this girl was beyond her. Her red eyes twitched a bit, remembering the one time she had actually did see the girl…

"Karin." Sasuke said simply, making the girl shut up instantly. Karin merely looked away, not wanting to anger Sasuke.

The Uchiha looked back to Kagome, smirking yet again. He had saved her from a life of hell, a life of being Orochimaru's experiment and bitch. The least she could do was follow and obey him…

"You're serious." Kagome said blankly, looking at the Uchiha with narrowed blue eyes. She didn't really know what to think, it was all really sudden. She leaned back on the couch, sighing a bit.

"Come with us, and help me achieve my goal." Sasuke said, Kagome opening her eyes tiredly. She glanced at him for a moment, thinking over his offer. It's not like she had anywhere to go, and he did save her from a life of misery…

"Fine." Kagome said, holding her head and covering her eyes. Her head pounded painfully, and she winced. What she needed was some pain relievers right now…

"Then are we leaving now?" Suigetsu asked impatiently, standing from his leaning position from the wall, gripping the hilt of his new sword.

"Yeah." Sasuke answered, standing from his own position. He glanced over a bit, raising a brow as Kagome slowly stood, wobbling on her feet a little. He watched silently as she slowly moved towards the door, then finally speaking up. "Where are you going?" He asked.

Kagome looked back at him with slightly blank eyes, grabbing the clothing he had brought for her. "I'm going to find a shower." Kagome answered simply, knowing that she hadn't bathed in a while. She felt dirty, unclean and disgusting. She wanted to be clean if she was leaving Orochimaru's hideout.

"Alright…but don't take long." Sasuke warned, leaning back and ignoring Karin's and Suigetsu's complaints of them wanting to leave now. The Uchiha would allow her to bathe; Karin could track her chakra if she did try to leave anyhow.

Kagome walked out the door, heading towards the shower facilities in the hideout. She reached it a few moments later, stripping of her clothing and sighing in contentment as the warm water washed over her tired body.

Sasuke sat back down on the couch, picking up the report on Kagome to read to pass time and for his own amusement.

_Report_

_Test Subject 556: Higurashi Kagome_

_Gender: Female_

_Weight: 102 lbs_

_Height: 5'1_

_Experimental notes: Injected with Uchiha Madara's DNA. Subject was able to activate the Sharingan a week after, also with an additional stage of the Sharingan. Curse mark was also applied. Subject lived through the initial night, though her body failed twice, Kabuto was able to revive her._

_Side notes: I was unable to find out her country of origin. Subject does not appear to be a shinobi, however, I have found out about her special abilities as a miko through hypnotism. The injections did make her thrash for a bit after administration, making me believe it may be her miko chakra at work trying to destroy Uchiha Madara's DNA._

_Important note: The curse mark seemed to have altered or is manipulating the subject's personality._

Sasuke did not bother to read the rest, merely glancing over the paper again. He went over the details, narrowing his eyes at some points.

Uchiha Madara, it was that name again. He vaguely remembered the Kyuubi comparing him to that Uchiha when he had encountered Naruto. He didn't know who Madara was and really didn't care. Now however…he may just have to research on this particular Uchiha.

He also noticed another particular detail; the additional stage of Sharingan must've been that…

He glanced up, narrowing his eyes and wondering if Kagome could actually use the Mangekyou Sharingan.

He looked at the last detail that caught his attention. Her personality being altered because of the Curse Mark? He raised his brow, it must have been an important detail otherwise it wouldn't have been circled in red ink.

The door opened and Kagome walked in again, looking a hell of a lot better than she did previously again. She was dressed in the clothes that he had brought for her consisting of a black tank-top like shirt, a fishnet shirt underneath that, a white skirt with black tight shorts, black arm-guards that went up to her upper arms and exact match to his own arm-guards, and black open-toed boots. She seemed to have added a red cloth-like scarf that she had tied around her neck.

Sasuke almost stood up after glancing up to her face, seeing the crimson present and the blue gone. He smirked darkly, so it was true, Kagome could really activate the Sharingan…and that was perfect for his now altered plans.

"Are we leaving now?" Suigetsu asked again, getting up from his position and looking at Kagome's now crimson eyes with interest. So it really was a success…

Karin glanced up, freezing as her own red eyes caught Kagome's. She shook in slight fear, remembering her first and only time seeing the girl…

* * *

_Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Karin all stood up on the upper balcony of the room, looking down at the arena-like floor. Karin frowned, wondering why she had to be present for such a thing._

_Orochimaru laughed with dark and cold amusement, his sickly yellow eyes glinting as he prepared himself for the amusement he was about to be provided with. He turned to his medic. "Kabuto, you may release her." He purred in his dark voice, Kabuto nodding with an equally sick smirk._

"_As you wish, Orochimaru-sama." He replied, pushing a button on the wall. A door in the lower floor opened and Orochimaru's test subject stepped out, her long black bangs covering her eyes._

_The arena was very large, more than capable of holding over one hundred men. It was about that number that stood in the arena, all of them wondering what this was about. Orochimaru's minions all looked warily at the motionless girl, were they all to fight her or something?_

"_Go at it." The Sannin simply ordered, and the Sound-nin all tensed, readying their weapons for battle. It didn't matter if their opponent was a female, if their lord ordered them to fight, then they would kill without hesitation._

"_What is this? That girl is already finished." Karin stated, watching with emotionless eyes. It's not like she cared if that girl died or not, but she really had no desire to witness that girl being ripped apart._

"_Just watch, Karin. You may just be surprised." Orochimaru smirked, licking his lips at the sight. He knew what exactly would happen._

"_Tch…" Karin snorted, not seeing what her master obviously did. She turned her head to observe anyway, wanting to know what was so special about that girl._

_The dark-haired girl suddenly hunched over, scratching at her neck in the process. She didn't make the slightest sound as she did this, even as she scratched herself hard enough to draw blood._

_The girl abruptly stopped, standing straight upwards with her long bangs hiding her face and expression. Some of the Oto-nin rushed the girl, kunai and shuriken in hand. Everyone immediately stopped and observed the girl as a sound echoed in the room._

_A chuckle._

_A dark, almost evil-like chuckle bounced of the walls and effectively produced shivers to travel down everyone's spine, excluding Orochimaru and Kabuto of course._

_The snake merely licked his lips again, watching the scene with intent eyes._

_The girl suddenly looked up, her evil crimson eyes instantly paralyzing all the Sound-nin to their spot. Her grin was insane, crazy with bloodlust. Her maniac smile did not disappear or falter, not even when the marking on her shoulder blazed a crimson-orange._

_The glowing continued as the curse markings slowly spread themselves over the girl, stopping as they effectively covered the girl's entire right side. The glow disappeared, leaving ugly black markings._

_Both Orochimaru and Kabuto frowned a bit, finding something definitely odd about the situation. Why did the girl's curse markings completely resemble Sasuke-kun's? It was common knowledge that the curse markings were unique for an individual; this just shouldn't be possible…_

_The Sound-nin were all still paralyzed, staring into the eyes of a demon. Her eyes were cold, cruel, murderous, yet gleeful at the same time, as if she found the thought of butchering the ninja like pigs amusing._

_The Sound-nin had all heard of such a thing, almost everyone in the shinobi world had heard of the legendary Uchiha clan and their famous Sharingan. The majority of them had all encountered such the doujutsu sometime in their lives, but this was just different…_

_Her eyes were completely different, the shape of it was all wrong. The Sharingan was obvious with the crimson and tomoe markings, but this was something resembling a pinwheel and a windmill. Her pupils were all wrong, cat slit-like when they should've been a human round._

_Blood suddenly painted the walls, screams reflected off the arena as over a quarter of the shinobi were swiftly ripped apart, the top half cut from their bodies. Limbs and appendages hit the ground with a sickly thud, red crimson liquid spilling over the floor in a scarlet river._

_The remaining shinobi could not move, watching as their comrades were dismembered and beheaded in an instant. They all glanced up as best they could from their paralyzed position. The whip of blue light immediately travelled over the distance as the girl flicked her wrist, effectively cutting into more shinobi. _

_Screams_

_Shrieks_

_Howls_

_All of them bounced off the room, amplified by the room's walls. Over half their numbers were dead and dying in a painful way. The smell of blood, guts, and urine filled the room quickly, but everyone simply ignored it._

_The remaining shinobi all against the wall, begging and hoping their lord would save them. Their hopes were crushed as he merely smirked, clearly amused at the sight of such gore and blood._

_The girl merely stood there, a psychopathic grin upon her pretty, demonic face as she observed the wretched scene. The markings burned with that crimson-orange light, slowly spreading across the other side of her face. Her entire body was now covered in the ugly tainted tattoos, giving her a more frenzied look._

_Karin could only shake in horror and fear as she watched the Sound-minions being slaughtered like pigs, all of them just lining up for their death as they uselessly tried to rush and ambush the insane girl._

_It didn't work, the girl merely chanted something under her breath and raised her hand up, a glittering blue light streaking from her palms and completely obliterating the Sound-nin. _

_The smell of burning flesh and hair quickly added to the blood and guts scent, making the small number of remaining shinobi lose their lunch, vomit adding to the mix on the dirty floor._

_In a matter of moments, all the shinobi were either dead or dying. The girl only smirked insanely, slowly walking back to her previous position, not even stopping as she stepped on someone's arm, a loud cracking and scream filling the air as she broke his arm. _

"_Excellent." Orochimaru purred darkly, licking his pale lips as the girl slowly upturned her demonic red eyes up to them, the second stage of her Sharingan obviously activated._

_Kabuto also smirked sickly, clearly amused as well. "It seemed the experiment was a success, Orochimaru-sama." He murmured; glad to have such an unstable monster under their control. Kami only knew how much damage they could deal to the other shinobi nations with Kagome under their control._

_Karin could only shake in complete and absolute fear as the girl turned her cold and murderous eyes to her, their red orbs meeting._

_Karin could no longer hold herself up with her shaking and weak legs as the girl smirked, looking like she was the girl's next prey…_

_

* * *

_

"Karin?" Sasuke raised a brow, immediately noticing with his shinobi skills that Karin froze as Kagome glanced in her direction. He didn't care for Karin's wellbeing at all, only needing her for her tracking skills.

Karin gasped, snapping out of her daze as Sasuke called her name and when Suigetsu roughly shook her form. "What?!" She snapped, angry at herself as she couldn't stop the cold sweat and shaking.

"We're leaving now." Suigetsu answered with annoyance, resisting the urge to behead the irritating girl with his new sword. He knew he would have to use all his patience to be able to even deal with the girl.

"Whatever." Karin mumbled, glad to have the girl's demonic eyes off her form. Her teeth clenched in annoyance as Kagome seemed to completely ignore her, as if she had never seen her before.

But then again, the girl was such in bloodlust mood at the time that Karin didn't even blame Kagome for not remembering her, in fact she was glad that the test subject didn't remember her…

The group walked out the room, Juugo finally moving from his spot to join the newly formed team. All of them walked out of the hideout, following Sasuke's leading form.

Sasuke turned to his new subordinates, his obsidian eyes narrowed as he glanced to all of them. "Gathering the four of you completes my platoon, and the first stage of my plan." Sasuke said, everyone paying complete attention.

"It's time I explained my purpose to you." Sasuke said, his dark eyes lighting with hatred. "I'm going to kill Uchiha Itachi of Akatsuki. And I want you all to help me."

"I knew it." Suigetsu commented, everyone else staying silent.

'_Kill Uchiha Itachi…?' _Kagome thought, narrowing her (unknowing to her) crimson eyes, wondering vaguely where she heard that name before. Maybe Orochimaru mentioned it before? Something about how her 'eyes' could potentially be more powerful than his…and how she would be able to help him take over Itachi's body rather than Sasuke's.

She winced slightly as her mark pounded painfully as she thought of that damn snake, and she grabbed at her neck to try and make the pain go away. It did after a few seconds of sending her miko ki through it…

"Kagome." Said girl immediately looked up, breaking away from her thoughts to glance at the Uchiha rather blankly. She blinked as he gripped her chin again, forcing her to stare in his unusual red eyes. They weren't that colour before…

Everyone already seemed to be walking ahead, obviously on Sasuke's orders. She frowned slightly, not liking how the Uchiha handled her so familiarly…

"What is it?" She asked, turning her head to the slight left to try and get out of his grip. It didn't work…

She leaned back uncomfortably as Sasuke leaned forward, his warm breath hot on her face. "We're going." He said simply, releasing her as if he was never invading her personal space in the first place.

"Whatever." Kagome mumbled, already not liking Sasuke. He was too forward for her own tastes, but she did owe him for killing Orochimaru, so she would follow him until he achieved his goal of killing Uchiha Itachi…

Sasuke watched as Kagome walked ahead of him, following in the other's path. He smirked suddenly, his eyes darkening at his thought.

She could use the Sharingan, she would be extremely useful to him.

He didn't plan to let her go.

_Ever._


	3. Meetings

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: Kagome/Sasuke, some Itachi/Kagome, some Naruto/Kagome

* * *

"Ugh… now why are we here again?" Karin asked, her reddish eyes flicking over the walls in slight disgust, her nose wrinkling.

"Heh, this dump is a hideout?" Suigetsu said, completely ignoring Karin's first remark, she was annoying anyhow.

The five people walked through the halls of an abandoned building; the leader was so obviously in front. "This place doesn't belong to Orochimaru. The Uchiha clan used this place to store weapons." Sasuke stated, turning his head to look back at his new group. "We can arm ourselves here."

Kagome looked at the halls intently, narrowing her now faded blue eyes. There was something – something that was very wrong. It was so subtle that she almost wouldn't even notice it if she wasn't so aware of her senses. Everything was getting a bit… fuzzier. Blurrier, her eyesight seemed to have dimmed in the very slightest. If she was a normal person, she would have never have noticed it, it was that small of a change.

'_What's going on?' _Kagome almost sighed, running her hand through her long, dark hair in a motion of stress. Everything was just messed up, ever since she had arrived to this strange, ninja world. _'Maybe it's those eyes that the snake kept on talking about.' _She thought, frowning heavily. What was it called again? What did Orochimaru call those 'eyes' again? She sighed this time, she just couldn't recall.

The miko looked up at the leader of Team Hebi, Uchiha Sasuke. She frowned even more, from what she had seen from Sasuke's attitude so far, he was very arrogant. She disliked that, though she still chose to follow him anyway. _'I'm just too kind. That's what Inuyasha said – and he was right.' _Kagome thought, she was only following Uchiha because she owed him, he had saved her from Orochimaru. She would help him kill this Itachi person, then she would find a way home.

She needed to find the well again.

"All these halls look the same – I hope we don't get lost in here." Suigetsu casually remarked, adjusting the heavy-looking sword strapped to his back. No one really paid attention, Sasuke was too focused, Karin was annoyed, Juugo was just quiet, and Kagome was too into her thoughts.

"The air in here – it's so stuffy. It makes it kind of hard to breathe." Karin stated, looking really irritated and glared at Kagome, taking her excessive anger out on the 'experiment.' The red-head crossed her arms in a show of arrogance, she was only with them – Sasuke – because she could use the Sharingan.

There was simply no other reason to why Kagome would even be needed.

"Well, excuse us!" A high-pitched voice suddenly remarked, completely startling Karin, Suigetsu, and Kagome. They all turned around, Sasuke had an expectant look to his pretty face.

"What?!" Karin blinked, adjusting her glasses. Kagome also blinked slowly, her hand twitching in an unconscious gesture. Those two were really cute and she wanted to touch their cute little ears.

"Tenka, Hina, how have you been doing?" Sasuke asked apathetically, his obsidian eyes focusing on the two little cats kneeling behind them.

The two ninja-cats squinted their almond-shaped eyes, sharp, white fangs glinting in their mouths as they spoke. "Sasuke! It has been long!" A white cat with black-tipped ears, tail, and paws smirked, as the other smiled a Cheshire grin.

"Meew – watcha here for?" The other cat asked, their tails waving casually.

Kagome blinked again, then smiled widely, clasping her hands quietly. The cats were just so cute! They almost reminded her of Kirara!

"Weapons, medicine, and a few other things. We have to be prepared for a fight." Sasuke stated, taking a few steps closer to the familiar ninja-cats. He remembered them from his childhood days, back when everything was good in his life.

"These things are –" Karin immediately frowned as she was interrupted, Suigetsu kneeled down to the ground.

The blue-haired boy gestured with his hands, trying to beckon the cats closer. "Talking tanukis'! Here boy!" He said loudly, standing back up in surprise as the cats arched their backs and hissed at him.

Karin smirked, Kagome blinked, and Juugo made no motion. "They're ninja cats. Don't bother them if you don't want to end up as a scratching post." Sasuke ordered, watching the scene emotionlessly.

"Didja bring us anything? Any goodies?" The cat grinned widely, its nose twitching wildly.

"How about a return?" Sasuke said, holding up a bottle. He watched as the cats breathed the air deeply, twitching in the direction that held Kagome. He glanced at her quickly, wondering why the cats would be so intent on her. Sure, she was pretty, but that shouldn't even matter to the ninja-cats. How intriguing…

The cats quickly snapped out of their small daze, standing up to lead them to a room. "C'mon. Let's go see Granny-Cat." The white cat said, its black tail swishing.

Everyone followed the cats and a few moments later, they all gathered into a room which held an old woman, numerous mewing cats, and a pretty young blond girl.

Kagome immediately squealed in delight at all the little, cute, furry animals, instantly kneeling down to pet as many as she possibly could. Karin stood in the corner, looking slightly miserable. Suigetsu also kneeled down, petting a cat. Juugo finally got rid of his ratty white clothes and was measuring for some new glossy, black clothing.

Sasuke momentarily smirked at Kagome's reaction to the cats, before he bowed down in front of the old woman. "I've come to repay my debts to you, elder cat." He said with respect.

The old woman looked at him intently, before finally deciding to speak. "So you really are going to find Itachi then." She stated rather than asked, noting Sasuke's non-reaction. "I can recall you two when you are kids – how has it all come down to this? To think that the Uchiha clan would be reduced to only two, and they would end up fighting to the death…"

Kagome looked up from the purring cats, also listening intently to the old woman's words. _'Uchiha clan? That sounds… familiar. At least I think it does.' _Kagome thought, struggling the try and recall where she heard that name before. It must've been Sasuke's family…

Her eyes twitched again, feeling a pain in her blue orbs. _'Ouch!' _The miko winced, her eyes coming up to rub her eyes. They hurt – a lot. She felt something, like her eyes were burning. Then, the pain suddenly stopped. She sighed in relief, instantly noticing something when she glanced up.

Everything seemed to be so much clearer…

Karin froze, seeing those horrid, monstrous crimson eyes staring at her again. She gulped, slowly moving out of Kagome's line of vision. She hated those eyes, hated this experiment. The girl was a monster, worse than those Jinchuuriki.

"I've made up my mind. Thank you for everything you have done for me up to this point." Sasuke said, leaving a large wad of bills on the floor before getting up. He glanced up at Kagome, narrowing his dark eyes as she panted slightly on the ground, her Sharingan obviously activated. He smirked, not believing his luck that Orochimaru actually succeeded in this experiment. It all benefitted him in the end.

"Hey, Baa-chan!" The blond girl suddenly grabbed the attention. "Do we have anything large enough to fit this guy?" She asked, the old woman just waved a hand lazily.

"This isn't a department store, girl! Just wrap him in that curtain!" The woman said, gesturing to the curtain behind them.

The girl sniffed, not believing such a suggestion. "They're paying us, you know!" The blond girl blinked as Juugo grabbed the curtain, smirking as he wrapped it around himself like a cloak.

"Nice." He smirked, his tall form almost completely covered.

The blond girl sighed, grumbling at the poor fashion choice.

"Are we going now?" Karin immediately stood from the wall as Sasuke stood up, grabbing five black cloaks from a table. She smiled at him seductively as he handed her the dark cloak, frowning as he ignored her, going to Suigetsu to give him his cloak. A cat pawed at her leg and she almost kicked it away in anger. She really hated cats!

Suigetsu and Juugo also took their cloaks from Sasuke and he finally approached Kagome, who was leaning against a wall, her Sharingan eyes narrowed. "Here." He purred, handing her the black cloak. He would act somewhat civilized to this particular girl, he would need her for his future. To revive the Uchiha clan, he would need her to be willing, he certainly was above force and rape. He was sure she would give in rather easily. After all, he was popular among women, he was good looking, and he was strong.

It was all what a girl wanted in a male, right?

"Yeah, thanks." Kagome grumbled, taking the cloak mindlessly. She winced as her eyes throbbed again, resisting the urge to rub them. _'My miko ki must be so focused on stabilizing this cursed mark, that it cannot stabilize these eyes or whatever at the same time…' _The miko wearily thought, throwing the black cloak on. She completely missed Sasuke's seductive face as she did so.

She also missed Karin's glare, Suigetsu's amused look, and Juugo's passionless face. All she wanted to do was go kill this Itachi person quickly, and then go find the well and go back home.

She already missed Inuyasha greatly.

* * *

"You're late." A cold voice remarked, frozen grey eyes glancing in the direction of two new shadowy figures.

A large figure grinned ferally, showing the outline of sharp fang-like teeth. "We only just captured the Four-Tails host a moment ago." Kisame said with dark amusement. "We had to make a few adjustments to make sure that he wouldn't escape."

Pein's unusual grey eyes glanced around, satisfied that all the current Akatsuki members were present. "Good, it looks like we're all here." He said coldly.

Kisame finally noticed that two members did not show. "Hm? What about Hidan? And Kakuzu?" He asked, glancing towards he partner for answers.

Itachi merely stared at Pein, also waiting for an answer.

"They're dead." Pein answered, much to the shock and surprise of some of the members. Hidan and Kakuzu were supposed to immortal, how could they be dead?

"Really now?" Kisame sounded really surprised. "I wish I could've seen how they were killed."

"Do not talk about your comrades like that." Pein commanded with authority, his grey eyes glancing over to Kisame momentarily.

"So who got them?" Kisame asked casually.

"Konoha-nin. It was Hatake Kakashi and the Nine-Tails host." Zetsu answered, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness.

"They're strong, aren't they? No wonder you got beat up, Deidara-sempai." Tobi innocently remarked, though his unseen cruel eyes glinted beneath his shadowy mask.

"Tobi, you –!" Deidara began angrily, though he was cut off by Pein.

"There are other things to talk about – important things. We will seal the Four Tails away as soon as we are done here." Pein stated, his eyes moving around the room to make sure that everyone was listening. He was satisfied when everyone's eyes settled onto him.

"Someone is dead. We will no longer have to deal or worry about Orochimaru." Pein said, catching Itachi's apathetic shadowy eyes.

"It has been around ten years since he betrayed the Akatsuki. Whoever killed him must've been strong. Who was it?" Kisame grinned darkly.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Pein answered shortly.

"How impressive. You must be so proud of your little brother, Itachi-san." Kisame stated with a sadistic chuckle, Itachi still did not bother to respond such banter.

"He has also gathered a few underlings. All of them may be a problem for the Akatsuki." Pein stated, having gained the information from Zetsu, who was the Akatsuki spy. "You should know one of them, Kisame. One of the Hidden Mist's Houzuki brothers."

"Suigetsu?" Kisame said with great surprise. "Now that takes me back a long time." He pondered, smirking with his teeth.

"Everyone else, remember what I've told you about Uchiha Sasuke. If he learns about Itachi's and Kisame's location, then they may disrupt Akatsuki's plans." Pein stated coldly. "Be on the lookout for them." He added.

"Yo Kisame, what's the deal with that Suigetsu person you mentioned, un?" Deidara asked, his shadowy eyes glaring in the shark-like man's direction. He smirked, wanting to find Sasuke's location soon. He wanted to be the one to kill him, especially how he despised the Sharingan and the Uchiha blood.

"I last saw him around ten years ago. Cute kid, he was always smiling when he would chop off the limbs of his enemies, before beheading them. A child prodigy of murder." Kisame explained, remembering when he was in the Mist's Seven Swordsmen.

"Juugo of Tenpin is also with Sasuke as well." Pein added, his Rinnegan eyes narrowing dangerously at his next thought. "There is another person you need to look out for; this is especially concerning you Itachi." Said person glanced up sharply, vaguely wondering who Pein was talking about. No one would be a match for him, other than Sasuke of course.

"Zetsu, thankfully, collected this information for us. Before Orochimaru was killed by Sasuke, he allegedly was working on a very important experiment that involved Uchiha blood and cells, the DNA of Uchiha Madara, the founder of that clan." Pein said, his eyes looking towards Tobi, who now looked slightly interested from the cruel glint in his shadowed eye. Itachi looked up sharply as well; the shadowed lines on his face were more visible.

"The experiment was a success; Orochimaru effectively injected the Uchiha DNA into a young girl. She is now able to use the Sharingan without any trouble." Pein stated.

Itachi's eyes momentarily widened, so subtle that no one would probably even notice. This should simply be not possible, no non-Uchiha should be able to wield the Sharingan, Kakashi was an exception. He frowned, not knowing how much this could put a dent into his well thought out plans.

Tobi aka Madara stood still, not all that concerned about the new developments. In fact, he found them amusing. A girl who had his DNA injected into her and now could use the Sharingan? He wondered slightly if she could use the Mangekyou Sharingan, and if she could, then it may benefit the Akatsuki in some way. In fact, if she could use his version of the Mangekyou, that meant she could control the Kyuubi with the eyes.

He smirked darkly behind his mask, if the Akatsuki could capture her somehow, that meant they would be able to capture the Nine-Tails host without a problem using her Mangekyou eyes. If the Mangekyou Sharingan could control the demonic fox, then it should be able to control its human host easily. That would save a lot of trouble for the Akatsuki, as he just learned that the Kyuubi brat had somehow disposed of the two Akatsuki immortals, Hidan and Kakuzu.

Yes, this just may work out in his and the Akatsuki's favour after all.

"What does she look like?" Tobi asked innocently, using his disguise to ask the crucial question. He ignored how everyone's eyes snapped to him, Itachi's included.

Pein smirked, so Madara was interested just like he thought he would be? "Zetsu has told me that she has long, black hair and normally has blue eyes. Her name is Higurashi Kagome, and she comes from unknown country, so her abilities are not yet known." The 'God' said, knowing that they had very little information on the new intriguing girl. However, it shouldn't be that big of a problem, the Akatsuki was composed of S-class crimimal missing-nin after all. The girl really couldn't be stronger than Itachi.

"In second thought, if you come across this girl, try and keep her alive, capture her. We have no idea how loyal this girl may be to Sasuke, and if she is not that loyal, she may be a great asset to the Akatsuki. It would always be beneficial to have another Sharingan user in our organization." Pein ordered, reading Madara like a book. It really would be better for the Akatsuki to have the girl working for them.

Everyone nodded with the exception of Itachi, who merely narrowed his eyes. His crimson orbs glinted dangerously in the dim shadowy light. This put too much of a dent into his plans, it was too risky.

The first chance he got, he would kill that girl…

* * *

"Orochimaru is dead?" Uzumaki Naruto asked in disbelief, staring with his azure gaze towards the female Hokage. She had just given him the information. "So Sasuke –!" He grinned suddenly, his smile fox-like. "He'll come back, right? He'll come back to Konoha soon?" Naruto asked, his excitement at his thoughts was going through the roof.

Sakura, who was also in the room, looked excited as well, her emerald-green eyes were sparkling happily.

Tsuande sighed, running her hand through her wheat-coloured hair quickly. "No, it doesn't look that way." She answered simply, looking towards Jiraiya for help when Naruto suddenly snarled.

"What the hell do you mean?!" Naruto growled, his fists clenching. "How could he not come back when Orochimaru is dead?!"

"Sasuke is too obsessed with revenge." Jiraiya answered calmly. "He is going to try and find the Akatsuki so he can kill his brother Itachi."

"That bastard again?!" Naruto snarled, his blue eyes darkening. Itachi ruined the lives of both himself and Sasuke. They both could not have normal lives because of that Uchiha bastard; he was going to be mercilessly hunted for the nine-tailed monster he had sealed up inside of him. Sasuke's life was forever ruined because the massacre of his clan, his family, his mother and father and all his kin.

"We need to form a team and move right now! The mission to hunt down any Akatsuki is still in progress, right?" Naruto asked seriously, Tsunade merely nodded to his question.

"But to get Sasuke-kun, we need to go after Itachi, or the Akatsuki members. That's the only way to get close to Sasuke-kun." Sakura stated.

"No, we need to find Uchiha Itachi. The others don't matter!" The blond in orange snarled.

"If we can capture any of the Akatsuki members alive, then we still have a better chance of locating Sasuke." Jiraiya said calmly, trying to get Naruto to listen. The odds of Konoha actually capturing Itachi was basically zero, he was just too powerful. But if they could get any other weaker Akatsuki member, that was just as good.

"Tch…" Naruto snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away. He only wanted to capture Itachi, the others really didn't matter, not to him anyway. Those Akatsuki members didn't ruin Sasuke's life.

"So if we can capture any Akatsuki member, we can turn them over to Ibiki-san and get him to extract any information." Sakura said, looking back as the door opened, Kakashi leaning casually on it.

"Unfortunately, they're not so easy to talk to. In our previous situations, capturing them was just too dangerous or out of the picture completely." Kakashi said, like he wasn't even eavesdropping on the serious conversation at all.

"So what are we supposed to do?!" Naruto yelled with frustration at his teacher.

"Well, the best thing we can do is find Itachi, right?" Kakashi answered, putting his little orange book into his pocket.

Jiraiya sighed. "Well, let's say you do find Itachi, then what?" The Sannin didn't think the older Uchiha would willingly talk and reveal Sasuke's location to them like that.

"There's no way we can accomplish this with just one team." Kakashi ignored Jiraiya's question. They would get to that soon.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto asked loudly, slightly confused.

"Well, Itachi is Sasuke-kun's target. If we kill him, then Sasuke-kun wouldn't have anyone to go after anymore. Killing Itachi is out of the picture, capturing him is the only option." Sakura explained to Naruto. "And to do that, we would need several platoons sent out at the same time."

"That's correct." Kakashi nodded to Sakura's logic. "However, the reality is that we would only need two teams. Any more teams than that would just make the chain order too hard to command and attack in any correct or logical pattern. And the enemy would spot you easier with more than two teams."

"Though communication is vital, you would need someone you have had experience with before. It also takes a lot more powerful techniques to capture instead of kill." Jiraiya stated.

"That's right. I've already picked a team perfectly qualified for that description." Kakashi glanced back at the door. "Come in, everyone."

The door opened to reveal Team Kurenai, looking like they were all packed to leave already.

"Kiba?! Shino?! Hinata?!" Naruto exclaimed, not expecting the former Team Eight. He smirked, knowing this team was famous in Konoha for their superior tracking skills.

"Yo." Kiba smirked back, Akamaru barking loudly in greetings. Shino said nothing, his glasses and high collar and hood hiding any expression that may be present on his face.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hintata stuttered quietly, fidgeting nervously as Naruto grinned widely at her.

"Alright," Tsunade nodded. "Go. Get ready for your new mission and inform Sai and Yamato." The female Hokage stated, sitting back down at her desk as she addressed Team Kakashi.

The group nodded, turning to leave. "I want you all to watch out for Uchiha Sasuke however. He may have new comrades, and we would know nothing of their abilities. I want you to approach with caution if you should encounter him." Tsunade directly warned Naruto, knowing he was probably the most rash out of the two teams.

"Of course." Naruto smirked back, turning to leave.

It was funny that Tsunade-Baa-chan brought that up, because he felt the exact same feeling that Sasuke may have new comrades.

Still, he really shouldn't be feeling as much jealously as he was…


	4. Naruto

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: Kagome/Sasuke, some Itachi/Kagome, some Naruto/Kagome

* * *

They were all jumping, leaping through trees. Kagome frowned; the wind was flying through her long hair. Her blue eyes were completely focused on her feet, hoping that she would not fall.

'_Just how do they do it?' _Kagome thought, sighing. She glanced upwards for a split-second, seeing how quick the four were in front of her. They were quite a ways in front of her, and were gaining even more speed by the second. _'They're too fast!' _Kagome frowned angrily, though she didn't dare speed up, fearing that she would fall if she did so.

She carefully landed on a thick branch of a tree, pushing off to leap to the next branch. She let out a few breaths, trying to keep her balance as best as possible. She couldn't understand how the four in front of her could keep their balance so easily without slipping or falling, but then again, they were all probably trained from a young age to do things like this. It was probably an easy task for them to jump branch to branch without falling.

'_Where are we going anyway?' _Kagome thought, just a bit irritated at the lack of answers. Sasuke seemed to be the leader of this group, and the others just seemed to obey whatever he said, it did annoy her. She would never obey him that easily, she was only following him because she owed him for killing Orochimaru.

Kagome sighed again, blinking when her vision, for a split-second, went fuzzy, then seemed to clear, seemingly enhancing her vision even more than just a second ago. _'What the hell was that?' _The miko thought, rubbing her eyes a bit. Her mark twinged, and she winced, feeling the burning flow down her shoulder.

'_Damn that mark!' _She cursed in her mind, wishing they could stop. The mark was burning, her miko ki working extra hard just to stabilise the damn thing. It certainly tired her out, though she didn't show it.

She just kept on jumping, following the four in front of her.

Karin glanced back, giving an arrogant smile when she noticed that Kagome was far behind them, looking like she was struggling just jumping to branch to branch. She snickered some, finding it funny. This would show Sasuke that she was the better female; the 'experiment' couldn't even jump properly!

Sasuke also glanced back, noting that Kagome was far behind them. He could see that wasn't even using her chakra to balance on each branch that she leapt on, yet somehow maintained her balance. He had to admit he was slightly impressed by that, he doubted even he couldn't jump branch to branch without the use of chakra to maintain his balance.

Sasuke looked around, seeing this was a good spot to stop for a moment. He planned for his team to split up for now; it would be easier to find Akatsuki this way.

He quickly descended to the ground, the others taking his lead and doing the same.

Kagome sighed in relief as they stopped, having a hard time focusing on the jumping while trying to balance out the mark on her neck. It was throbbing with pain now, like it wanted to be unleashed or something. No, she couldn't let that happen, the last time she gave up control, she found herself standing over the bodies of one hundred shinobi, completely drenched in blood.

That had frightened her, not knowing if she had done that to them. Orochimaru and Kabuto didn't tell her if she had done that, only giving a secret, cruel smirk towards her whenever she asked…

* * *

_Kagome slowly blinked, trying to get everything within focus. She felt tired – extremely tired. The room was still fuzzy, and she had no idea where she even was. She also felt wet, very wet. _

_Her other senses seemed to have kicked in before her vision, her nose scrunched up due to the horrid smell. She had smelt similar scents to this one before, having seen war and death in the Feudal Era before. It was nothing new to her._

_She glanced downwards, gasping as she noticed that she was drenched in red liquid – blood no doubt. "What happened?" Kagome gasped, feeling disgusted with all the blood on her person, it was just all over. _

"_Did you have a fun time, Kagome-chan?" A voice purred, and Kagome swung around to meet the owner of the voice, frowning unconsciously. _

"_Orochimaru," She muttered, feeling a hot anger towards the snake. "What do you mean?" She demanded, the anger growing when Orochimaru merely smirked, his sickly golden eyes glowing in the darkness. "What happened?!"_

"_Are you hurt anywhere, Kagome-chan?" Kabuto smoothly cut in, his voice partly mocking towards her. It was obvious that they knew something that she didn't. "Let me examine you." _

_Kagome backed up a few steps, not wanting the medic to even come near her. She was past modesty, having been examined without clothing many times now by Kabuto. Of course it wasn't exactly consensual, but she had no choice in the matter. "I'm fine," She dismissed, wondering what the hell was going on. "What happened?" She repeated, knowing that she would not get her answer._

_The mark on her neck burned in response, and she grasped at it, trying to cool the fiery pain. It hurt so much—!_

"_Aww, are you in pain, Kagome-chan?" Orochimaru snickered, coming a little too close for Kagome's comfort. He traced her lips with his elongated tongue, causing a shiver of disgust to run down Kagome's form. _

"_S-shut up!" Kagome panted, her vision was now going blurry. She narrowed her eyes to try and see better. It didn't work very well. "Did I do… this?" She gestured to the fallen, dead shinobi. The thought horrified her, but she wanted to know. _

"_Do you want to sleep now, Kagome-chan?" Orochimaru asked softly, completely ignoring her previous question. He smirked, watching as Kagome struggled to stay on her feet. She glared at him, hating him, wishing that he was dead. Why out of all the people in this ninja world, it had to be Orochimaru who found her? She would've preferred anyone else._

_Orochimaru nodded over her head to Kabuto, who merely smirked darkly, and Kagome gasped in pain, suddenly falling to the ground in pain almost, completely knocked out cold. Kabuto's hand moved away from her throat, looking back up to Orochimaru._

"_Examine her," Orochimaru purred, it was the last thing that she heard before she fell unconscious._

* * *

"Split up, find any traces of the Akatsuki," Sasuke said to his team, Kagome just snapped out of her thoughts, blinking as everyone seemed to just suddenly blur from their positions, except for Sasuke and Karin.

The red-haired girl merely glared at her harshly, Kagome only blinked again, surprised by such hostility. Karin quickly grabbed onto Sasuke's arm, rearranging her features to be seductive. "We can split up together, then we can be all alone." Karin gave an arrogant smirk towards Kagome; sure he would take up her offer.

Sasuke merely raised a brow, not really understanding Karin's actions. "Go." He ordered, watching as Karin merely tensed, giving another harsh, jealous-filled glare towards Kagome before leaping away herself, leaving the two Sharingan-users alone.

"Err – what were we supposed to do?" Kagome asked quietly in embarrassment, she had been so obviously caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear a word that Sasuke had said. It was obviously to with the Akatsuki, were they supposed to be finding traces of them or something?

Sasuke merely smirked, seeing this as a time to try and seduce the poor girl. She was obviously innocent; she probably didn't have a clue for what he had planned for her. "You can come with me; we are going to find any sources that have any information on the Akatsuki and Itachi." Sasuke said, the hatred was very obvious as he mentioned his brother's name.

Kagome merely stared at him, not even knowing that her experimental Sharingan was activated. She finally saw this a moment of opportunity to ask him about his brother, Uchiha Itachi. "Why do you hate your brother, Itachi, so much?" She asked, immediately noticing that he stiffened, as small as it was.

"He slaughtered my entire clan, even our parents, only leaving me alive to avenge them." Sasuke explained apathetically, though Kagome could detect pure hatred within his words, she felt sympathy for him in that instant, her dislike of him vanished for that moment. It almost reminded her of Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's past situation, and how they tried to kill each other every chance they got. Of course, that had changed in recent times, though the obvious dislike between them had not changed at all.

"He had to have some sort of reason behind it," Kagome stated quietly, though she was unsure of why she was trying to comfort Sasuke, he didn't seem to be the type who wanted any pity.

"He's a psychopath, that's why." Sasuke growled, he didn't want to talk about this subject with Kagome. He was also slightly surprised that she didn't even know about the Uchiha Massacre, almost everyone in the shinobi world knew about it. Then again, he did recall that Kagome came from an unknown village, perhaps it was a non-ninja village? Then how would she be able to fight? Kagome was a real mystery to him still; he needed more information on her.

Kagome narrowed her Sharingan-eyes, feeling something rather… familiar in the air. Her eyes widened a second later, realising what it was.

'_A youkai?' _She thought, looking around to find the source. It was obviously no where near her, a distance away from her position. Now that she really thought about it, she had not sensed any demons in this world so far, absolutely none. _'Could it really be…?' _Kagome furrowed her brows, almost not believing it.

Were there no demons in this ninja world?

She was so used to demons that the thought of a world without demons almost boggled her. There were even demons in the modern era that she had been born in, no matter how hidden they might be.

'_I've got to go check it out,' _She thought, now sneaking a glance towards Sasuke. She only hoped that he would let her go on her own. "I'll split up too, so we can cover more ground." She said, Sasuke frowned quickly, not wanting that. He was sure that Itachi would be interested in her if he ever found out that Kagome could use the Sharingan, Kagome would not stand a chance against Itachi if he decided to attack her or something.

"I'll be fine." She muttered, seeing his look. "You'll find Itachi faster this way." She said, sighing as he stiffly nodded, blurring away in a black flash.

"This was I'll be able to find the well too," Kagome murmured, closing her eyes to try and pinpoint the location of the faint demonic aura that she sensed. _'It's that way,' _The miko thought, it wasn't all that far away from her, she could probably reach the location in about twenty minutes if she traveled quickly.

The experiment quickly ran in the direction, wishing that she could jump through the trees as quickly as the shinobi could. It would be a much faster way to travel, but it was potentially dangerous for her. She could not keep her balance as well as they could, she could potentially fall and somehow hurt herself in the process. It wasn't the ideal situation that she wanted to be in, especially in this ninja world.

'_It's so close!' _Kagome widened her eyes, skidding to a stop; her black cloak flew up around her, obscuring her view for a moment. That was all the time in the world for the demon to drop down in front of her, and he certainly wasn't what she expected at all.

He had bright blond hair with equally bright blue eyes; his skin was tanned, complete with whisker-like markings on each cheek. He was clad in bright orange clothes trimmed with black. He was a pretty good-looking boy, looking very confused by Kagome's presence.

'_Is this the… demon?' _The miko thought, completely confused by the sudden turn of events. The demon energy that she had sensed was swirling all about the blond boy, but from what she could tell, he was actually human.

"Err – hello," The blond boy began, the confused look was replaced by a serious one as he approached Kagome, holding something in his hand. He stopped about a foot away from her; Kagome had to tense just in case he tried something. He was a… demon; he might've sensed her purity. "Have you seen this person?" The male asked, holding up a photo so that she could see.

Kagome had to widen her eyes, seeing a younger-looking Sasuke in the photograph. His pale face wasn't as full of hatred as it was now, it didn't look as stressed as he did now. "Umm— well," Kagome started, then suddenly remembered something important.

"_If you come across anyone looking for me, do not tell them of any of our location."_

Sasuke had ordered them that from the start, mentioning something about the Leaf Village or something. She vaguely recalled that he had stated that he betrayed them in order to pursue his brother, Itachi.

"Well, no." Kagome answered a second later, the blond male seemed to have noticed her pause. He frowned; a bit of red seemed to swirl within his bright blue eyes.

And suddenly Kagome tensed as a clawed hand suddenly wrapped around her throat, her back was shoved against the hard bark of a tree, crimson-red eyes were glaring into her own eyes.

* * *

_**This girl… **_Kyuubi growled so loudly within his mind that Naruto had to wince, the snarl echoed in his ears. He could see the cage that held the monster fox flash before his eyes, the ankle-deep water bubbled ominously, rising at an alarming rate.

_**Boy, let me**_**— **The kitsune snarled so urgently that it startled Naruto, who took a step back from the giant seal, gulping as red chakra bubbled around his feet. He wasn't sure on why the Kyuubi was acting so strange, it only a mere girl.

"Get back into your cage, you dumb fox!" Naruto growled back, remembering his vow that he would no longer use the fox's power anymore. He certainly wasn't going to use it to attack an innocent girl, no matter how much Kyuubi seemed to dislike her.

_**Brat, do not think you can stop me! **_Kyuubi snarled back, the red chakra bubbled around him, surrounding him. _**This girl can completely kill the both of us with ease! **_

Naruto had to snort at that, not believing the baka kitsune. "She's only a girl! It's not like she a part of the Akatsuki!" He tried to reason with the crazy fox, though it didn't seem to work at all. The fox was obviously getting angrier, Naruto had to take a step back as the sealed cage opened a slit, a large paw shot out, entrapping him within the Kyuubi's claws.

"What—?!" Naruto gasped, not believing that the Kyuubi had managed to open the seal this much, had it really weakened this much? "Let me go, you dumb fox!" He demanded, though it now seemed rather pointless. It was obvious to him that the Kyuubi was not going to back down.

_**Allow me control, boy, and she will no longer be a threat! **_Kyuubi smirked; enjoying his sudden power over his human host, Naruto never allowed him any kind of freedom, too worried that the seal may break. The kid had nothing to worry about, not unless he used all nine tails of his power, which was the only way the seal would completely break. And with Naruto's recent vow, that didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon.

"Give you control? In your dreams, fox!" Naruto struggled in the kitsune's grip, now wondering where Yamato and Hinata were. They hadn't been too far behind him, he really needed Yamato now to subdue the Kyuubi…

_**You have no choice, boy! **_Kyuubi snickered, knowing the only reason he was allowed control was probably because of the seal, it recognised that the girl was a threat to both him and Naruto, it actually allowed him control in order to preserve their lives.

"Don't—" Naruto was cut off, widening his eyes as the cage suddenly disappeared from his view, he was back looking at the girl. He finally realised that even though was no longer in his subconscious, he wasn't in control of his body.

His arm shot out, definitely not on his own accord. The Kyuubi had, somehow, gained control of his body, and now was attacking the girl. His clawed hand wrapped around the girl's throat, shoving her against a tree.

She gasped, obviously not expecting the sudden attack. Her own hands came up quickly to try and pry his hands off her throat, though to no success. "You're a miko, aren't you?" He growled, though not in his voice. It was definitely Kyuubi's voice, and it left Naruto to wonder what a miko was.

"Kitsune, get your hands off me, and I won't purify you." Kagome calmly ordered, now seeing what was going on. The fox demon was actually inside the blond boy, somehow trapped inside his body. It was obvious that he could sense that she was a miko.

"You won't get the chance!" The blond boy/kitsune snarled, bringing one of his clawed hands up, ready to plunge it in her chest.

It was only a sudden, surge of power that stopped them both, a pain erupted in Kagome's eyes, she had to gasp in pain, closing them to try and stop the pain. The blond boy snarled at her, leaping away at the sudden surge of power, it felt very familiar to the Kyuubi, a power the he simply despised.

The moment that the girl opened her eyes, Naruto had to gasp, though it didn't actually come from his mouth. His blue eyes widened from his place, completely shocked, he simply couldn't believe the sight.

Tears of blood ran down the girl's cheeks, trailing down her face as she stared at him with a demonic Mangekyou Sharingan.

And it was only a second later that black flames suddenly exploded from her Mangekyou Sharingan eyes, heading towards Naruto with an incredible speed…

And he was certain that he had no time to dodge it…

* * *

Please, people! Review this! I notice that I am losing a number of reviewers for a lot of my stories, and I really needed the encouragement right now, especially for my Naru/Inu xovers, my interest in Naruto is like… ugh…

So please review!


	5. Illusion

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: Sasuke/Kagome, mentions of Itachi/Kagome, Naruto/Kagome

* * *

Naruto's life flashed before his eyes – and to be very honest, he wasn't so proud of it. His childhood was a sad one, his Genin days marked by Sasuke's betrayal, and his current days flocked by the menacing Akatsuki.

He expected to feel pain, his bright blue eyes were squinted shut as he expected for Amaterasu to lit him on a brilliant black fire. It would probably be a horrible death, but didn't shinobi heroes die in this way? Perhaps he would get a name on that special stone or something....

Only, the pain never even came – and Naruto was finally brave enough to look to see what happened.

The black flames of Amaterasu had disappeared completely, leaving Naruto to believe it may have just been a Genjutsu or something. Kyuubi had retreated back into his cage, eerily quiet as they both observed the exhausted girl intently. Naruto, for once in his life, couldn't say a single word as he stared in silence at the panting girl – watching blankly as streams of blood trailed down the girl's cheeks from her Mangekyou Sharingan eyes.

_'What the hell was that?' _Kagome thought, panting and almost wheezing to get her breath back. She had never felt this exhausted before, and her sight was going all blurry and black – she could barely stand, even when leaning against the large tree behind her. Her eyes stung and the area around her curse mark throbbed, seemingly begging to be released as an alternate source of energy.

But no – she couldn't, not after what happened last time. The last time she couldn't remember what had happened, and then there was all those dead bodies littering around her – she knew she had done it.

_'Was that Tsukiyomi...?' _Naruto thought warily, having heard the very real effects of the illusion of Tsukiyomi on the mind from Kakashi, though he had never experienced it for himself, _'It had to be, I've never thought death could feel so real, but as an illusion...' _The blond could still feel his body shaking, and swallowed nothing. Kyuubi, from what he could feel, had gone back into a slumber for some reason.

"J-just go....!" The girl panted, trying to wipe the blood trails off her cheeks, but only managed to smear it even more, "I don't know any Sasuke or whoever you're looking for." Kagome said tiredly, on the verge of passing out, "Go before it happens again." The miko stated, she could feel her eyes burning again – like it wanted to release once again.

Naruto blinked, but then shook his golden-blond head. There was no way in hell he was leaving now. At least, not without this girl anyway. She had the Sharingan – the Mangekyou Sharingan. There was no way he was going to just leave her here without any answers. She couldn't be an Uchiha because there was only two left, even if she did have the features of one.

So, how did she have the Sharingan, then?

"No, you're coming with me." Naruto said finally, walking forward slowly to reach for the girl warily, ready to defend himself should she try and attack him again.

"You wish, Dobe." A stoic voice suddenly interrupted the two, a black flash intercepted Naruto from grabbing the exhausted girl. Naruto blinked dumbly, his body not even reacting to the very familiar voice and face right in front of him.

"Sasuke...." Naruto whispered, watching with wide blue eyes as Sasuke picked up the now unconscious girl within his arms, not even bothering to give him a glance, "Sasuke, who is that girl?" Naruto demanded, clenching his fists when Sasuke didn't bother to answer. The Uchiha simply turned around, the girl in hand, and disappeared as quick as he had come in the same black flash.

"Sasuke – dammit!" Naruto cursed, punching the splintering the tree in front of him. He had yet another chance to rescue his friend, but his body was too damn slow to even react! Was he really that weak? The jinchuuriki didn't even realise that he had voiced it out loud when another presence dropped into the small clearing.

"Yes, you are," Another stoic voice came from behind, and Naruto gasped while turning around to eye the figure with disbelief, "I am not here to collect you as a jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Itachi!" Naruto snarled, seeing his most hated enemy right in front of his eyes. It was this man that had made Sasuke and him suffer, and he would love more than nothing to kill him right now, "What the fuck do you want? Here to capture me for the Akatsuki?"

"I am not here to collect you as a jinchuuriki," Itachi repeated, narrowing obsidian eyes, "I am here merely to talk to you as Uzumaki Naruto."

"And why do I have a hard time believing you?" Naruto growled, avoiding looking at Itachi's eyes – knowing he would be ensnared by an illusion if he did so.

Itachi noticed, and gave a light smirk, "You learn quickly. However, I am here to ask you one question only." The traitor Uchiha said stoically, black crows flying around him as Naruto finally realised that he had already been trapped in an illusion.

"Why do you so desperately seek my brother?"

* * *

Sasuke cursed, almost flying through the trees while holding his precious bundle tightly in his arms so as not to drop her. He knew he shouldn't have let Kagome go on her own, but he didn't expect for her to run into Naruto of all people!

_'What happened?' _Sasuke thought, glancing down at Kagome to spot the blood trails and smears on her pale face. She was clearly exhausted as she didn't even stir, despite the rough travelling, _'What the hell did Naruto do? He's still weak – he could not have done anything.' _Sasuke frowned, looking at the blood trails more closely.

_'Did Kagome use her Sharingan?' _Sasuke's frown deepened, wondering what could have caused the blood. There didn't seem to be any open wounds on the girl, and the blood trails did lead from her eyes....

Sasuke snorted, leaving the questions for later when Kagome awakened. For now, he had to find a resting place until Kagome woke up.

He would let the others look for Akatsuki's trails for now....

* * *

_She was bleeding – a lot. _

"_Dammit!" Kagome cursed, finally pulling herself out of the well, only to fall down to the soft grass. She winced as the hard landing stung at her bleeding wounds, not yet realising that she was not in her own time, "Where the hell am I?" The miko blinked, looking around the clearing in a dazed-like way, realising that this was definitely not her home._

_Her wound throbbed and she cursed again, trying to stop the bleeding with her hand while black spots danced in her vision. Just before she passed out, she could hear footsteps. Feet stopped in front of her, along with a delighted hiss of someone._

_

* * *

_

_She could only feel pain. That screaming pain. _

_The fangs ripped from her neck, but she didn't pay attention to it as she moaned and thrashed; her restrained arms and legs fought against the ties that held her down to the table, trying to reach up so she could rip out the source of that heated pain._

_

* * *

_

_There was a needle being injected into her arm, but she was barely aware of it because of those numbing drugs. She moaned lightly as her neck throbbed in pain for what seemed like the millionth time that second, wincing as the needle finally left her body._

"_Do you really think that she will survive this, Orochimaru-sama? She could barely survive the curse mark." A voice asked, though in no concern for her well being, "I had to revive her twice through the night."_

"_Kabuto, I think you underestimate the power of this one," An amused voice hissed, but she could barely focus on the words being spoken, "I have just recently found out that she is a miko. If she could not survive Uchiha Madara's DNA, then I think that no one can."_

_She could feel something uncomfortable, it made her twitch and scratch. She couldn't get to the itch because her arms and legs were still being restrained, so she fought against it. She couldn't even feel the restraints digging into her wrists and ankles, she couldn't feel the thin trails of blood streaming down from where the belts dug into her skin._

_There was another burning pain, but it was duller than before...._

_

* * *

_

_It was a week later when she opened her eyes again – and she could immediately tell that something was different._

_Her eyes burned...._

_

* * *

_

Kagome awoke with a gasp, almost knocking Sasuke off the branch he was leaping off. The miko didn't even realise it as she shivered uncontrollably, grabbing the front of Sasuke's cloak with desperate hands. She didn't even know what she was doing when she buried her face into his chest, still trembling from the strength of those dreams, "What happened?" She muttered, not expecting an answer.

"You ran into the Dobe," A deep voice answered and startled her, "But you won't have to see him again," Sasuke said, regaining his balance on the branch as he leapt to the next one. Warm arms tightened around her, comforting and terrifying her at the same time, "I'm not going to let Konoha take you away from me."

"He was looking for you, that boy who had that kitsune trapped in him," Kagome mumbled, not looking up from her spot buried in Sasuke's chest, "He was the only youkai I've sensed here so far."

Sasuke raised a brow at her odd words, but didn't respond as he landed just outside of the forest. The Uchiha glanced around warily, narrowing his obsidian eyes as he noticed that something was very off. There were no birds chirping or any animals frolicking about....

"I had hoped that I would be the one who ran into you first, un."

Sasuke quickly glanced up, finally spotting the cause of the disturbance, "You're an Akatsuki, I assume?" Sasuke asked stoically, spotting the two up in the air. He frowned, seeing this as not the best time to run into one of the Akatsuki members; Kagome was currently exhausted.

The blond on the strange white bird-like creature grinned a smile full of arrogance and malice, "You killed Orochimaru? I find that hard to believe," Deidara stated, landing on the ground with his partner, Tobi. His blue eye finally landed on the girl in Sasuke's arms, "Is that the girl that was one of Orochimaru's experiments? The one who can use the Sharingan?" Deidara asked with a lazy smirk, amused as Sasuke simply frowned at him, pulling the girl even closer to him.

"Woah, you really do look like Itachi-san!" Tobi butted in to make a useless remark, causing Sasuke to tense in hatred at the mention of his brother's name, "Deidara-sempai, aren't we supposed to bring that girl back to the Akatsuki?" Tobi said loudly, smirking behind his mask to see Sasuke glare in hatred.

"Tobi, shut up!" Deidara rolled his eyes, wondering why he would get stuck with such a clueless partner like Tobi. It was a miracle that he could even manage to function in the Akatsuki, "Just hand the girl to us so she doesn't get hurt when I kill you." Deidara offered with a smirk.

"Those are a part of the Akatsuki?" Kagome asked quietly and weakly, finally lifting her head from Sasuke's chest to see who was talking, "The ones you're looking for?" The miko squinted tiredly, trying to see past the blurriness.

"Don't worry about them," Sasuke said smoothly, narrowing his eyes as he activated his crimson Sharingan, "They will be dead soon enough."

"You're arrogant, just like your brother." Deidara didn't like Sasuke's easy dismissal of his strength, "I've always hated your–" Deidara was cut off by Sasuke's complete disappearance, blinking when he heard a cry from Tobi. The blond cursed, turning in time to see Sasuke quickly take down Tobi with one blow, even with Kagome in his arms, _'He's fast!' _Deidara frowned, though he smirked a moment later, _'But he will be dragged down by the girl.' _Deidara let his hands dug into the bags of clay attached to his sides, molding them into one of his bombs.

"Sasuke, let me down," Kagome insisted, seeing that she would slow down the Uchiha in the fight. She sighed when Sasuke simply tightened his arms around her in response to her statement, "Just put me down."

"Wow, you're so fast!"

Sasuke frowned as Tobi easily stood from the spot he was just lying on; he was obviously stronger than he appeared, "Almost as fast as Itachi-san!" The Akatsuki said 'innocently', but Sasuke could see that he was trying to get him riled up.

"Where is Itachi?" Sasuke demanded, gripping the weakly struggling Kagome so she couldn't leave his grip. It seemed that the Akatsuki wanted their hands on her, and he wouldn't let that happen. Neither Konoha, or Akatsuki, or his brother would ever get their hands on Kagome.

She was his, simple as that.

"Do you really think we'll just tell you?" Deidara smirked at Sasuke's apparent annoyance, "Now, just put down the girl and let's fight for real."

"Just listen to him," Kagome stated quietly, blinking when Sasuke actually released her to stand on her own feet. She could feel her legs shake slightly, but she seemed alright to stand – even if her eyesight didn't really seem to be at its best.

"Go and hide. Wait for me to come and get you." Sasuke ordered, making sure that Kagome listened and watched as she made her way back into the forest for cover, ready to attack the two Akatsuki members should they decided to interfere. The Uchiha turned back to the two, Sharingan dark and twisting.

"If you won't tell me where Itachi is, I'll beat it out of you."

* * *

Kagome panted, leaning up against a tree – tired as hell. Her eyes and curse mark burned and burned, making her feel ill when her holy spiritual powers forced its way up in order to calm her down and repress the curse mark.

However, her eyes still stung as she couldn't control both at the same time.

"So, you're the girl who had my DNA injected into." A darkly amused voice sounded from right behind her, causing her to gasp and turn around groggily – stepping back from the tall man behind her. Kagome saw it was the one of the Akatsuki members that Sasuke was talking to earlier, the one with that strange orange mask that completely covered his face.

Kagome couldn't only shake in what was perhaps fear or terror as she stared into the eye hole of that orange mask, spotting an eye that was the Sharingan, only so much worse.

"I must admit it was a surprise that you had survived the experiment. I knew that Orochimaru had attempted it many times, but to no success." The man conversed casually, watching her intently for her reactions.

Kagome tensed completely at the man's next words, and actually wished for Sasuke's strong presence around her.

"I can see it now, just by looking at you. You're a miko, aren't you?"

* * *

Here ya go!


	6. Explosion

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: Sasuke/Kagome, mentions of Itachi/Kagome, Naruto/Kagome

* * *

"You're a miko, aren't you?"

The question completely stunned the poor girl, and she gasped and feeling that subtle fear surge at the mysterious man's words, "H-how – how did you know that?" Kagome weakly demanded, trying to ignore the dizziness and fatigue that her eyes seemed to be causing her. She tried to stand taller against the tree to attempt to appear more threatening, however, with her small height and petite figure, it was rather pointless to this tall male.

Madara smirked with dark amusement behind his mask, the girl's words having confirmed his educated guess, "Let me see it, girl. I wish to see your Sharingan," He stated, taking a lazy, but threatening step forward and the girl, through poorly disguised terror, tried to blend into the tree behind her, "Or rather, should I say _my _Sharingan?" Madara allowed his voice to darken abruptly from 'Tobi's' voice, and Kagome glared at him, much to his hidden amusement.

"Heh – I don't even know what the hell this 'Sharingan' really is," Kagome gave an arrogant smirk, though it was rather shaky, "And I don't really care what it is either. Shouldn't you be helping your partner?" She tried to distract the man, trying to convince him to go back to that blond man, who was currently fighting with Sasuke. Since she could sense that Sasuke was really strong, she was confident enough that the Uchiha would be able to fight this man and the blond man at the same time with ease.

She, on the other hand, was rather unused to a shinobi's particular fighting style, as she had been trained in the taijiya and miko style, so she was at a clear disadvantage, _'Why couldn't this world be infested with youkai?' _Kagome thought desperately, knowing that she couldn't use her holy powers on humans, no matter how corrupt they might be.

"Deidara needs no help," Madara took another step forward, stopping when the miko brandished a weapon that she, by her stance, obviously didn't know how to use all too well. He chuckled cynically, "Miko, there will be no need for a fight if you only agree to come with me."

"Not on your life!" Kagome snapped, holding the kunai, that Sasuke had given her earlier as a precaution, in front of her. She tensed, knowing that she wasn't an expert at using the throwing knives, as in the Sengoku Era of her world, were really only used by ninja, and not taijiya. As such, her experience with using this particular weapon was very low, "Even if I wanted to, I doubt that Sasuke would let me anyway." Kagome muttered under her breath, low enough so that Madara could barely hear her.

"So, the boy really is interested in you," Madara confirmed again, reformulating his plan within his mind at a rapid pace. If he really wanted his scheme to work, then taking the girl now would not be in his favour. It didn't really matter anyhow if the girl was following Sasuke everywhere, which meant she would be under the Akatsuki's and his control sooner or later after he got Sasuke to join his side, _'That is, if she is lucky enough to survive that long.' _Madara mused internally, knowing exactly what Itachi may have planned. The girl had been a wrench thrown into Itachi's meticulously thought-out plans, and therefore, was a danger to him.

_'What is Sasuke doing?' _Kagome tensed, looking back with wide eyes when the ground shook and the loud noise of numerous explosions reached her ears, _'No, I don't need him to save me.' _The miko grit her teeth, trembling in slight pain when her neck throbbed. It seemed that Orochimaru's mark sensed her discomfort and now was attempting to spread across to give her more power. But, the last time it had control, she.....

"Just leave me alone!" Kagome snapped, throwing the kunai quickly and without warning; flying towards her target with expert precision and she slumped slightly against the tree and allowed her holy powers to surge up to fight with the snake's mark. It burned and Kagome slowly opened her blurred eyes, though only to watch with surprise as the kunai simply sailed right through the Akatsuki member, like he wasn't even standing there, "What...?" She mumbled, not too surprised because she had seen stranger things.

"It seems you have much to learn about shinobi, miko," Madara said, smirking as he twirled his own kunai around his finger, "I don't not think it is too wise to pick a fight with me."

Kagome narrowed her eyes, wincing as her eyes burned again and she could even feel them shifting into something else; something much more powerful. It only took a moment of observing, but Kagome quickly caught on, _'How is that possible?' _She frowned, snatching another kunai, _'That ability.... I see now.'_

"Oh? And what do you know about me? It's not like you know anything about my powers," Kagome threw the second kunai after charging it with her powers, if only to test her theory and to see if it was correct, "So, don't judge too quickly."

"Useless," Madara simply watched the kunai come closer, activating his special ability and was arrogant enough to just stand there. However, he widened his eyes from behind his mask when the kunai stuck into his arm, lodging with a slight pain that he hardly even felt, but still! "How...?" He growled, grabbing the weapon from his arm and allowing the blood to flow freely.

"Heh," Kagome smirked, ignoring the burning in her eyes, even if her vision seemed so much clearer with the 'Sharingan', "You're manipulating.... something – I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's pretty similar to time," Kagome could feel the slow spreading of the black, orange-glowing curse marks across her face, "And I am able to manipulate time around me."

_'Manipulate time?' _Madara thought, growing that much more interested in the young miko that Sasuke had secured. Not even his special teleportation jutsu could manipulate time.... _'Intriguing.' _

Another series of blasts caught Kagome's attention, and she glanced back worriedly, wondering what was going on in Sasuke's battle with that blond male, _'Is he having trouble? Should I go back and help him?' _Kagome thought, glancing back to Madara and quickly making her decision.

Madara simply watched as the miko sped away from her spot, quickly leaving the scene to go back to Sasuke's side, _'It won't be too difficult, not if she stays by Sasuke.' _The Uchiha thought, allowing the blood to drip from his small wound and disappearing from his spot to go and watch the battle proceed.

Poor Deidara simply wouldn't stand a chance against Sasuke....

* * *

Kagome panted, trying to run and use her holy powers at the same time so she could subdue that disgusting mark, which seemed to be trying to take over her body. She couldn't let it, not after what had happened before, _'Why did I have to fall into a world full of shinobi?' _She thought, glancing up with intent when she finally noticed the battle scene.

Both Sasuke and that blond male looked absolutely exhausted, "Sasuke!" Kagome called out worriedly, ignoring Sasuke's glare and the blond man completely, not noticing when the Akatsuki member laughed almost hysterically, ripping off stitches from his chest to reveal a mouth, "You're injured badly!"

"Get out of here!" Sasuke growled, noticing exactly what Deidara was doing and attempting to stand, though his body disobeyed. He grit his teeth when Kagome ignored his command and kneeled down beside him, deeming it safe enough because both seemed too exhausted to fight on.

"This is my ultimate art!" Deidara laughed darkly, allowing the mouth on his chest to devour his clay, "I'm going to blow myself up!" The look in Deidara's eyes could be called insane as he kept on laughing at the Uchiha.

"What the hell did he just say...?" Kagme hissed, finally glancing over to the Akatsuki member while Sasuke just narrowed his eyes, irritated that Deidara would not just give up.

"Death will make me the ultimate art," Strange lines were appearing all over Deidara's battered body, "This explosion – will get the praises that it deserves!" Deidara shouted out, _'But, I'm sorry, Tobi...' _He briefly thought, "And you will definitely die, you bastard Uchiha!"

Sasuke attempted to get up once more, trying to drag Kagome with him so that they could move away, knowing how exactly powerful Deidara's explosions were, "Fuck!" He cursed lowly, knowing he wouldn't be able to get on his own in his current state, never mind with Kagome. The miko stayed silent, watching with wide Sharingan eyes at Deidara, not really knowing what was going to happen.

"This explosion will cover a radius of ten kilometres, so trying to escape will be useless!" Deidara smirked, "Be frightened and shout out, because....."

_My art is a bang!_

Both Sasuke and Kagome watched with widened eyes as their vision suddenly went white with the brilliant explosion, though the Uchiha quickly broke from his temporary frozen state in order to wrap his tired arms around Kagome, shoving her down into his bare chest and causing her to gasp in surprise as he quickly made certain hand-signs.

Everything went dark after that....

* * *

Suigetsu looked around, slapping down a summoning scroll on the ground, "It's here," He murmured, observing the damage to the surrounding area with a critical eye, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He slammed his hand down and watched as a large cloud of smoke suddenly enveloped the area and clearing away to reveal a large, dead snake, "So this is Manda, Orochimaru's former summon," Suigetsu watched the snake's eyes, which just so happened to be a fading Sharingan, "Through Genjutsu, huh?" He looked thoughtful, finally noticing two figures near the snake's head.

"You're sure you feel all right?" Suigetsu heard Kagome's voice demand, "You were badly injured, and I need to make sure you don't have any internal injuries!" The former Kiri-nin rushed over, watching Sasuke as he heavily leaned on Kagome, obviously just coming out of some sort of battle.

"I'm fine" Sasuke stated, though he knew he wasn't completely healed when Kagome had healed during the time they had spent in Manda in another area he had transported them to temporarily. He winced slightly when his body ached, leaning even more heavily over the miko.

"You look beat up," Suigetsu commented the moment he reached the two, watching as Kagome unravelled her black cloak to wrap around Sasuke's shoulders, "Who the hell did you fight?" He asked, now ignoring the dead snake.

"Akatsuki, I took two of them out," Sasuke closed his eyes, rather tired and felt almost soothed when Kagome's hands ran over his bare side, healing a few more cuts, "Though, he didn't tell me where Itachi is."

"No," Kagome suddenly cut in, causing the two males to glance over at her, "That explosion didn't kill that other man," She said, looking slightly irritated that he didn't die in the attack, "I could sense him teleport away. He's still alive," She sighed, trying to ignore the sharpness of Sasuke's gaze, "He knew.... that I was miko, somehow." She muttered, looking away completely.

Sasuke frowned, leaning even closer to the girl and feeling anger flow through him. He didn't like it, that the Akatsuki now probably knew that Kagome was miko – and since mikos were extinct, it meant that she could be valuable to them.

In other words, they might try to take her away from him.

_'Kagome is mine. She's mine.' _Sasuke thought, determined that he would never let the criminal organisation steal her away. Itachi wouldn't lay a finger on her....

The three glanced up when they noticed two other figures rushing up to them, consisting of Karin and Juugo, "I knew you were here! Your chakra just reappeared after it suddenly vanished! Did you teleport somewhere else?" Karin demanded as soon as she reached them, Juugo simply surveyed the scene and staying silent. The red-haired girl twitched in anger and jealousy as soon as she spotted Kagome pretty much hugging the battered Uchiha, healing him with a strange pink chakra.

"So, you really did put yourself inside of Manda and transported to another area." Suigetsu confirmed, having thought that before.

"Not the funnest experience," Kagome muttered lowly, looking away at the giant dead snake, "You really should treat animals better, Sasuke." She lightly scolded, pouting when he only replied with a 'Hn'.

"The Akatsuki member was better than I thought," Sasuke replied with little emotion, giving some explanation to Karin and Juugo, "The blast still managed to hit a part of us."

Karin eagerly eyed Sasuke's bared chest, trying to ignore the girl, who in her eyes, was throwing herself all over his weakened state, _'Sasuke even looks cool when he's all beaten up!' _She squealed within her mind, though anger surged through her the moment Kagome spoke up.

"Sasuke, we really should find a spot to take a break. I can heal all of your wounds in a safer place than this." Kagome said softly, wrapping her arms around Sasuke's still-developing shoulders to help him stand from the ground. He leaned against her again, his body clearly exhausted from his battle with the Akatsuki member. The miko tensed, feeling anger directed at as she glanced subtly over to Karin, who was currently glaring at her. She glared back, feeling her eyes twinge once again.

"Did any of you get any leads on Itachi?" Sasuke demanded quickly, glancing at his team-mates and ignoring Kagome's stern stare for the moment.

"You're half-dead and asking this? Stop trying to such a tough guy!" Karin sneered, needing to take her anger out on something, though she shook her head anyway to answer Sasuke's question.

"Nothing specific on Itachi, but plenty on Akatsuki as a whole." Suigetsu answered, shrugging.

"They're after specific people – people with a special kind of chakra. Unpleasant chakra, from what the birds tell me. They have many different bases they operate from." Juugo stated, glancing over at the bird that landed on his shoulder.

"Special chakra?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes a bit, wondering what that could be about.

"I only ran into that kitsune boy," Kagome admitted, "He wanted to take me to Konoha or whatever," She glanced over to Sasuke, "He seemed really surprised that I had the Sharingan." She stated, though she still didn't really even know what the 'Sharingan' really was.

"Naruto." Sasuke rolled his eyes, irritated greatly by Naruto's insisting presence and the fact that no one had managed to gather any information on Itachi.

"Come on, we need to get somewhere safer," Kagome said again, her shoulder was starting to ache from Sasuke leaning on her so heavily, "I don't really want to stay out here – not with him about." She muttered, thinking of that other mask-wearing Akatsuki member. He seemed far too interested in her, and it really did unnerve her.

"No need to look like a wild animal, Karin," Suigetsu smirked, snickering with amusement at the enraged jealous look on the red-haired girl's face, "Do you really think you even stand a chance against _her_?" He asked, focusing his interested gaze on Kagome's short skirt and even more specifically, her nicely-rounded rear, as she guided Sasuke to the nearby village, "Kagome's waaaay hotter than you!" He snickered again, wincing in pain when Karin suddenly punched him in the face, causing his skin to liquidfy as water.

"Shut the fuck up, you stupid asshole!" Karin growled, "That bitch only holds Sasuke's attention because she has the Sharingan!"

Juugo merely sighed, wondering why the hell Sasuke would even want these two obviously unstable shinobi on his team...

* * *

Naruto frowned, still pondering about that mysterious girl because the Kyuubi was staying eerily silent about her. He had asked the fox a million times over just what a miko was, but the Bijuu simply refused to answer. He sighed, the girl taking priority in his mind, even over that strange recent encounter with Itachi he just had.

_'That girl,' _Naruto thought, ignoring his team-mates as they surveyed the area that the blast had occurred in, _'She's with Sasuke. So, if we can capture her, then....' _He glanced at Kakashi, wondering if he should even tell him about that girl. He probably would be interested in the fact that she possessed a Sharingan, and the Mangekyou Sharingan at that. He glanced to the sky, sighing once more.

Was it really possibly that another Uchiha, a female one at that, survived the Uchiha Massacre....?

* * *

Well, I think it's safe to say that I'm semi-out of my massive writer's block!


	7. Anger

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: Sasuke/Kagome, mentions of Itachi/Kagome, Naruto/Kagome

* * *

"Hah," Karin sneered, crossing her arms and watching in jealousy as Kagome wrapped a few bandages over the wounds that she could not heal on Sasuke's chest, "You claim you want to kill Itachi, but you can't even take down one little member of the Akatsuki?"

"Relax, will ya?" Suigetsu rolled his eyes as he sipped on his water, "We've been moving non-stop for days now," He gave her a mocking smirk that revealed his shark-like teeth, "It's a good time to catch up on some rest."

"All you've done _is _rest, you asshole!" Karin retorted angrily, while pushing up her glasses with a finger, "Someone like you shouldn't get a say!"

Kagome sighed, trying to ignore the arguing in the background while she finished up, "There, done," She pulled down, looking at Sasuke in a lightly-veiled concern, "How are you feeling?" She asked, watching him pull a loose haori over his bandaged shoulders.

"Shut up," Sasuke frowned, looking rather irritated at all the noise his comrades were creating, "Even with all the time I gave, you have found zero information on Itachi." He accused, observing as Karin glanced down and Suigetsu glanced out the window.

"I gathered tips on Akatsuki as a whole," Suigetsu admitted, scratching the back of his head, "And it's like Juugo said, they're targeting a specific group of people," He shrugged, leaning against the wall behind him, "But nothing more than that."

"A specific group of people?" Sasuke frowned, recalling Akatsuki's preoccupation with Naruto and it was clear that they were after the Kyuubi sealed _inside _of Naruto and not Naruto himself. Perhaps there were more people like Naruto out there?

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Karin said in rather snobby tone, looking arrogant as everyone turned to look at her with slightly puzzled expressions, "A specific group of people?" She repeated, shrugging while glancing out the window, "It's sounds a lot like the Bijuu."

"Bijuu?" Sasuke raised a brow, though he honestly did not look too interested as Karin smirked at Kagome, seeing that she had the upper advantage in this situation due to her knowledge.

"Yeah, they are like the Kyuubi no Youko from Konoha, where you're from, Sasuke," Karin stated, "The Bijuu are powerful demons that have chakra physically manifesting as tails. They're chakra monsters."

_'Demons?' _Kagome widened her blue eyes before they narrowed somewhat_, 'So there are demons in this world,' _She thought grimly, glancing at Sasuke and seeing that he looked a little more interested, _'Just not as widespread in this world than what I'm used to.'_

"There are nine Bijuu in total," Karin continued on with no hesitation, "And each of them have a different number of tails. The last I've heard is that they are sealed into humans so their village can take advantage over the Bijuu that way."

_'That kitsune boy must have been one of those people,' _Kagome thought, a bit shocked that there was only nine demons in this ninja world. The fact that they were sealed into humans was a bit more startling however, _'It seems humans aren't any less selfish in this world than they are in mine.' _She sighed at the thought, jumping when she felt something slump against her shoulder.

"Are you even listening to me?" Karin asked with annoyance, her brow twitching madly as Sasuke slumped against Kagome, "You basta–!"

"Just be quiet already," Kagome rolled her eyes, placing Sasuke back into bed and placing the covers over him, "Sasuke is still exhausted from his battle with that blond Akatsuki member."

"Listen to the pretty one, Karin," Suigetsu smirked, snickering as she glared heatedly at him in response, "And stop putting up such a fuss all the time."

"Anyways," Kagome stopped Suigetsu before he could provoke another fight that would only wake up Sasuke, "While Sasuke is asleep, do you mind telling me more about these Bijuu, Karin?" She asked with a small smile, trying to be friendly with the hot-headed red-haired girl.

Karin snorted, crossing her arms over her chest, "What I said before is all that I know about them," She said, "They are very powerful, so it's not too surprising that the Akatsuki would sought after them." She blinked her red eyes, glancing out the window with a slight frown.

"What it is?" Suigetsu asked warily, seeing the expression on her face, "Do you sense something?" He asked, his hand tightening around the hilt of Kubikiribocho.

"Yeah," Karin answered quietly, closing her eyes briefly to concentrate more closely on the chakra, "There's no mistake that they are heading this way," Her eyes opened once more to glance at her teammates, "There's a lot of them, along with some non-human chakra," She frowned lightly, "Dogs, I think. They could be following after our scent, so it could be the Akatsuki or even Konoha."

"Oi, Sasuke!" Suigetsu said loudly, standing up and heaving Kubikiribocho over his shoulder, "Wake up! We have company!"

Sasuke opened his eyes, glaring from the corners, "Come," He said simply, abandoning the bed without another thought and slipping off his clothes to put on some more combat-ready ones, "We're leaving."

"We should ambush them," Karin suddenly said, "Whether it's either Konoha or Akatsuki, both are bound to know something about Itachi."

"It's Konoha," Kagome murmured, feeling that kitsune boy's chakra, even from how far they were away, "I can sense fox boy's energy coming this way."

"So there's no point in ambushing them, right?" Suigetsu looked pointedly at Karin as Team Hebi moved outside of the little inn they were staying in.

"Right now, we will use Juugo's information that he managed to collect about the Akatsuki's numerous hideouts," He unfolded a map for his team to see, "Forget about Konoha," With that, he proceeded down the stairs without another word to the three shinobi, "Come, Kagome. Give me some of your chakra while we go."

Karin huffed, watching with jealousy as Sasuke forcibly pulled Kagome to his side by putting an arm around his shoulder, "Anyways," She said loudly, ignoring Suigetsu's snicker as she turned to Juugo, "Gather as many birds as you can."

Juugo blinked, "What for?" He asked, watching as Karin flushed a slight red while holding up a tattered white haori.

"This is Sasuke's old shirt," She smirked, her eyes hidden behind her eerily shining glasses, "It's covered in his sweat and blood, so we can use this to lure those Leaf punks away from our trail."

Juugo just glanced at her strangely, "Why do you have Sasuke's discarded shirt?" He asked, not too sure that he actually wanted an answer.

"T-that's...!" Karin's face burned a bright red before she got a hold of herself, "Konoha is using dogs to trace our scent, so we'll use this to our advantage." She tore Sasuke's haori into strips with a kunai and gave an arrogant smirk.

Juugo could only sigh while doing as Karin had asked for...

~00~

"How much energy are you going to take?" Kagome asked with slight irritation, panting a bit as Sasuke took some of her 'chakra' as he called it, "You do realise that I need it to move around and keep up with you." She was beginning to grow exhausted from her earlier healing of him and his draining of her energy.

"I need it to kill Itachi." Sasuke said simply, glancing down at the map where he had marked the Akatsuki's numerous hideouts. He would go to each and every single one of them to find his brother if he absolutely had to.

"Are we not going to wait for the others?" She asked, frowning as Sasuke practically dragged her with him.

"They will get in the way," Sasuke stated, seeing that the first hideout was a cave not far from their current location, "Come, we will check this one out first." He demanded and Kagome could only sigh while rolling her blue eyes.

It took only about ten minutes to reach the destination, "There's... someone in there." Kagome said quietly, able to sense something that was amiss in the area.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, moving forwards into the cave cautiously and allowing Kagome to follow after him. He peered from behind a rock, still careful as he spotted a figure standing within the darkness of the cave.

The figure slowly glanced up, "So, you've come," He said, his voice echoing around the cave as Kagome came to stand behind Sasuke and stare curiously at the mysterious figure, "It's me... Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes immediately turned crimson as his pupils finally grew accustomed to the dim lighting and a slow anger seemed to take over his face.

"You have grown a bit taller," Itachi noted, his eyes focused on the girl hiding behind his brother, "And I see you have discovered the allure of a female's flesh."

Kagome frowned, looking between the two and seeing the great resemblance between them, _'This is him,' _She thought grimly, spotting the same black cloak that Deidara had been wearing, _'This is Itachi... Sasuke's older brother.'_

"You're still the same," Sasuke stated icily, "Even those cold eyes of yours."

Itachi's expression did not change in the least, "Are you not going to scream out and attack like you did three years ago?" He asked monotonously.

Sasuke let out a short but dark laugh, "You know nothing about me." His red eyes narrowed and Kagome took a step back when Sasuke suddenly disappeared from his spot in front of her and reappeared behind Itachi.

He impaled Itachi in the chest with a bolt of his lightning chakra before the older Uchiha could even react, "How much hatred I carry within myself," Sasuke tightened his fist, "And how strong I became because of that hatred."

Kagome glanced up, staring at the impaled Itachi and sensing something _wrong_, "Sasuke," She said quietly, coming up beside him and she couldn't help to wince when she noticed Itachi coughing up blood, "It's..." She watched as Sasuke retracted his chakra, allowing Itachi to slam in the ground in front of them.

"You have... become strong," Itachi said and Sasuke was not surprised to see his body suddenly turn into a flock of crows that flew around them in an arranged pattern, "However, I see you are attached to a miko."

Kagome widened her blue eyes, "How do you know that I am a miko?" She growled, feeling that strange feeling in her eyes as they slowly shifted into the Sharingan, "How do you know?" She repeated, wincing a bit when the mark burned and ugly black markings started to spread across the right side of her body because of her anger.

"You tarnish the Uchiha name, Sasuke," Itachi's voice came from the crows, "Come to the Uchiha hideout. I will let you settle things there." The flock abruptly vanished in a flash of black feathers.

_'How does Sasuke's brother know that I am a miko?' _Kagome thought, feeling her mind slowly cloud in anger. It was something that she didn't want to get out and yet Itachi somehow knew about it?

"Kagome," Sasuke said sharply, seeing the girl struggling with her rage as the curse marks spread with an eerie orange glow that lit up the dim light of the cave, "Pull yourself together." He demanded.

"He knows," Kagome muttered under her breath, "He knows!" Her hair covered her eyes and her gloved hand clenched tightly, "He knows," The curse influenced her mind and shrouded it in hatred and anger, "About me."

The only thought on her mind was to–

_KILL_

She growled when she felt arms wrap around her neck from behind and pull her into a broad chest, "Kagome," She felt Sasuke rest his head on her shoulder, "Calm down." He ordered.

But even his voice was not enough to stop it.

The Uchiha frowned, flipping Kagome around and seeing that the curse mark was spreading even further and listened as she breathed raggedly. She was rapidly losing control and he had to stop the descent before it fully enveloped her mind.

Kagome could only freeze when she felt Sasuke's lips slam against hers.

.

.

.

.

.

_He was kissing her!_


End file.
